A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. ~Marcus Garvey ~Bianca King
What Sparked MyInterest???During slavery, African Americans were stripped of their Identity. We lost knowledge of our origins, our traditions, and who we were as a people. Everything we do, I realized, is European in origin. A Lot of our holidays are European or Eurocentric: Christmas: A pagan Roman Celebration formally known as “Saturnalia” Halloween: An ancient pagan Celtic holy day formally known as “Samhain”. It’s celebrated in it’s original form in many countries today. Thanksgiving : A holiday that’s in honor of a dinner between Europeans and Native Americans. (Native Americans that the Europeans later slaughtered) The 4th of July :The celebration of the Independence/Freedom of estranged Europeans (Though we ourselves were not independent or free at that time)Our Ideal of beauty (Whether we know it or not) is Eurocentric: Straight Hair Light Skin Light colored Eyes (etc)A person is considered to be more beautiful when they have a combination of these features.The way we view History is from a European Standpoint: Christopher Columbus “Discovered” America (Though there were people already here) The Egyptians were Caucasian (Though It’s a country in Africa) The Grecians were the father of Mathematics, Philosophy, etc (Though these things were practiced in African countries before the Greeks ever even existed.)All of these things made me realize how clueless African Americans are when it comes to who WE are! Our customs are all borrowed . The Way we THINK about certain things is even borrowed in a sense. That didn’t and still doesn’t sit well with me, so researching our cultural origins became a hobby that I truly enjoy.
Where Did I Begin??? When I first began researching I didn’t have any books and had no Idea what books to look for, So I did my first research via the Internet. The Internet is a very good source for information, but you still have to be careful when researching because not all websites are reliable.
While reading information online, I wasfinally able to find books to buy that Icould read and advance my studies.
What Did IFind???The African Slaves weretaken from East and(Mainly) West Africancountries such as Nigeria,Ghana, Senegal, Mali,Mozambique, Angola, andTanzania (to name a few).
YORUBA ASHANTI MAVUMBA, We cameKAFFIR, from many GREBO different tribes…. IGBO ANTI MARIBUCK,
The Most Interesting Thing IFound Out???All of the tribes I named (and even those I didn’t) are all Hebrew in origin.
Say What?! Yes, I found that (“Coincidently”) all of the Tribes of West Africa our ancestors were taken from have origins in Ancient Israel. Specifically the Igbo tribe of Nigeria (where a VERY large amount of our ancestors were captured from) STILL to this day have oral/written history of their migrations from Israel to West Africa some 1500 years ago.
“I can not respect the present Jews because they left Israel Black and came back White” ~Gamal Abdul Nasser (Former president of the United Arab Republic. 1956) “Many, again, say that they (The Israelites) were a race of Ethiopian origin, who in the time of King Cepheus were driven by fear and hatred of their neighbors to seek a new dwelling-place.” ~Cornelius Tacitus (Roman Senator and Historian) “General Vespasian and his son Caesar Titus fought against the Jews. Millions of Jews fled into Africa, among other places, fleeing from Roman persecution and starvation during the siege.” ~Flavius Josephus (Joseph benMattityahu: Israelite Historian)“Jews of the Bilad al-Sudan describes West African Jewish communities who were connected to known Jewish communities from the Middle East, North Africa, or Spain and Portugal. Various historical records attest to their presence at one time in the Ghana, Mali, andSonghai empires, then called the Bilad as-Sudan from the Arabic meaning Land of the Blacks. Jews from Spain, Portugal, and Morocco in later years also formed communities off the coast of Senegal and on the Islands of Cape Verde” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_of_Bilad_el-Sudan . “Largely unknown in the West until quite recently are communities of the African Jews such as the Lemba. Some among the Igbo ofNigeria, claim descent from East Africa and Jews in Algeria and Jews in Tunisia and Jews in Morocco,Jews in Libya and Jews in Egypt Jewish communities.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Jews
Color Confusion??? When most think of “Hebrew”, “Israelite”, or “Jew, they think of the European Ashkenazi Jewish people we see today. The truth is that the “Jewish” people we know today have absolutely no ties to the land of Israel, the Middle East, or the original Jews. They are only European CONVERTS to the religion of Judaism. “The Thirteenth Tribe”, written by an Ashkenazi Jewish man, goes in depth on their true origins; where they are from, who they are, and why we falsely believe that this particular group of people are the descendants of the Israelite nation.